


Femslash Feb Requests 2018

by artlessICTOAN



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Space, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Awkward Crush, Canon Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Childhood Friends, Domestic Fluff, Dorks in Love, Drabble Collection, Established Relationship, F/F, Fashion Girlfriends, Femslash February, Fluff and Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abortion, Lazy Mornings, Light Angst, Meet-Cute, Pining, Polyamory, Punk, Rare Pairings, Songfic, Spiders, Tattoos, Worried Girlfriends, can i get a heck yeah for the rare pairs, so much yodochou jfc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-17 09:57:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13656624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artlessICTOAN/pseuds/artlessICTOAN
Summary: All the drabbles I've been writing over on tumbles for FSF, thanks to everyone who sent in a request, it was an absolute blast!





	1. YodoChou - Modern au

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First request, YodoChou!

\---

YodoChou - Modern au

\---

Chouchou sucked in the cool night air like she’d just been drowning, and, in a way, she had.

The room was tiny, packed full of – by-now utterly wasted – partygoers, several bain maries, which were still radiating heat even though the food had long-since been served, and a blasting music system that was probably causing global warming all by itself with how much needless shit was plugged into it.

And she still had to finish carting leftover food and empty trays back to the kitchen and clean down, before she could _finally_ escape and collapse into bed, hopefully not having to move an inch for at least two weeks.

But she had a few precious moments now to hide by the vents and flap the hems of her stuffy uniform to get some cool air circulating around her.

The smell of smoke still lingered here, but it was apparently too cold for any of the customers, in their thin shirts and short dresses, to bother walking out to the designated smoking area, instead loitering a few feet from the doors; she had briefly considered directing them to the right place, but if the managers and front-of-house weren’t gonna bother then she didn’t see why _she_ should either.

At least it gave her a little time to let the exhaustion pull at her limbs and her face fall from its forced smile for a few minutes.

 _God_ her head was killing her, she slammed it – way harder than she’d intended – against the cold metal air duct beside her, the jolt it made shuddered and rang, shocking her migraine away for a split second of relief and the cold soothing it once it tried to return.

“Ow.”

It took a few moments for her to register the tiny voice, blinking at the dark metal in front of her eyes.

She glanced around, hoping that she hadn’t just been caught looking unimaginably unprofessional by a customer, but there were no dark shapes of a person hiding against a wall anywhere.

Was she just hearing things? Feeling more than a little stupid, she called out softly, “Uhh… hello?”

“…Wassup.”

Ok, that sounded _very_ close, where the hell was this voice coming from? Maybe if she kept them talking she’d be able to locate them and work out if she should be apologising or calling the cops. “Not much, working, you?”

“Y’know… Stuff.”

There was a tiny cough, one that sounded weirdly… echoey. She stepped back from the duct warily, eyeing the grille at the base of it – or rather, the black space that was _supposed_ to be a grille.

One hand already sliding into her pocket to unlock her phone, she glanced around for any potential weapon, even as she crouched down, but, unable to find anything, she decided her fists would probably be good enough if it came to that.

Chouchou took one last deep breath, before leaning over, bringing her phone to the opening and turning the torch on.

She didn’t quite catch the string of curses that were hissed at her, focused on scrutinising the face before her intently. A woman, young, dark skin, mess of short, curly hair that might’ve been blonde, or might just be dusty from the vent, the blue of her eyes just visible as she squinted at the blinding light.

Well, what the fuck now?

At least she wasn’t making any move to attack, the stranger just slowly blinked until her eyes adjusted, looking over _her_ the way Chouchou just had been.

“…Hey girl, do all angels glow so bright, or is that just you?”

She honestly didn’t know whether to raise an unimpressed eyebrow, or snort; she settled for both. “I dunno, do the police know that the world’s most inept sweet-talker is on the loose?”

The woman winced, but she still managed a wide grin. “Ouch.”

Shuffling into a slightly more comfortable position, Chouchou examined her a little further, moving the light to try and see a little further than her annoyingly cute face, but she couldn’t see very far before her body disappeared into pitch black. She could see enough to tell that she was wearing some kind of formal suit though.

“So. What the fuck. Are you with the wedding?”

The tiny hands squashed awkwardly between the floor of the duct and the lady’s chest waved in a way that was probably supposed to be dismissive, but just looked ridiculous. “Yeah. Ok look, ’m not actually a thief or anything, if I _was_ then I’d use the wide-open door fifteen feet thataway-” one hand tried and failed to point in the direction of the kitchen Chouchou had just left “-or, y’know, use the unlocked doors in the bar.”

“Uh-huh, for someone who’s not a thief you’ve sure put a lot of thought into this,” she said, not quite sure why she was still here and not running for a manager, or security, or something.

Now that she was getting used to the light, she noticed that her big, clear eyes weren’t so much blue as green, with maybe a bit of grey in there too, it was especially obvious when they rolled like that. “Yeah an’ here I am, lying in a vent instead, so clearly I’m not a thief.”

“So what are you doing in there?”

It was a little hard to tell in the bad lighting, but Chouchou was _sure_ she could spot a little blush on those freckled cheeks. “Uh… I was gonna… play a prank on someone…”

Her back was starting to ache a little from being bent over like she was, but the longer she was down here the less and less inclined she felt to get up and go get help. She couldn’t help grinning as she tried to make herself a little more comfortable; almost certainly getting enough dirt on her trousers to have the hotel’s food hygiene rating knocked down at least two points, but she’d deal with that problem later, right now she had much more interesting things to focus on.

“What, were you gonna wait for someone to wander past and leap out or something?”

The woman’s snort was loud, but she didn’t seem at all embarrassed by it. “Or somethin’, waiting for my uncle to come out for a smoke, I’m gonna grab his ankles and scare the living shit outta him!”

She could picture it in her mind already, skinny, clawing hands reaching out of a dark vent, it probably _would_ be terrifying to the poor victim. “Sounds funny, but I’m afraid all the guests are just smoking by the doors. How long have you been in there?”

“…Uh, I dunno, can’t get my phone out of my pocket.”

Chouchou was trying so _very_ hard not to laugh. “You’re stuck, aren’t you?”

“ _No_ , I can get out any time I want!”

“Prove it.”

Well, that glare of hers was deadly alright, but on such a cute face, Chouchou couldn’t find it in herself to be scared off by it.

Her laugh was _very_ poorly hidden. “Do you want me to call… someone? Who do you even call for this shit? An ambulance?”

“Oh-eight-hundred-hey-babe-I’d-love-to-get-stuck-in- _your_ -vent.”

It took almost four minutes for her cackling to die down enough to accept.

\---


	2. InoTen - Mission

\---

InoTen - Mission

\---

Leaves flurried around her as she darted through the trees, each powerful step pushing her several feet ahead, but, even though she’d been running at almost full-speed for a few minutes now, she wasn’t at all short of breath.

She glanced back over her shoulder, sharp eyes spotting the three distant figures trailing far behind her. Frowning, she stumbled on her next step, letting her weight carry her into a forward roll – not stopping her dead, but slowing her as she rebalanced and found her rhythm once more – one last glance back confirmed that her pursuers had taken advantage of it and made up some of the distance.

The chase was unbelievably dull, the hardest part so far had been _not_ completely outpacing them, but, unfortunately, she couldn’t let them out of her sight and she couldn’t just turn around and beat the living daylights out of them either.

She lazily threw a kunai back – not even bothering to look, she didn’t want to accidentally _hit_ them after all – letting it slice a fine line into a tree trunk as she passed.

There were now four such gashes decorating it, so she was just about to start her fifth lap.

How much longer was this going to last? She couldn’t even claim it was good training because Gai-sensei going easy on them – not that the man knew what ‘going easy’ even meant – was more intense than this.

Her dark eyes skittered to the right, hoping that maybe she’d catch a glimpse of the enemy stronghold-

Ah.

Tenten smirked briefly, _perfect_.

One last glace back, she slowed her steps a little, just enough that they were within fifteen feet of her, before she charged forwards, directly into a thick tree trunk. One foot pressed into it, she launched herself up, letting her momentum and chakra-coated feet carry her almost halfway up, before making a neat one-eighty-degree spin and pulling a tiny scroll out of her pack in a single, fluid movement.

They hadn’t even managed to adjust for the sudden verticality of their chase when she let loose a wide net, iron weights slamming into the soil with a dull thud, one had just managed to escape it, but he didn’t escape the green-glowing hand that gently tapped at the back of his neck.

Grinning wide, Tenten let herself slide back down to solid ground, watching her partner as she methodically performed the same jutsu to the six ninja still struggling with iron-strong wire.

Only when every man and woman was unconscious did Ino finally turn to look at her. “Tenten, what the hell took you so long?!”

Her blue eyes were blazing and her fingers were tapping against crossed arms in the way that always signalled that she was ready to throw down, but she didn’t have a single scratch on her and not one golden hair was out of place. Tenten felt a tension she hadn’t even been aware of melt away. “Hey, not my fault these guys are so slow, if I’d gone full speed they would’ve lost me. Take it your side went well?”

Ino scoffed, opening her hip-pouch just enough for Tenten to catch a glimpse of the scrolls stashed inside. “Of course it did!”

“Man, this mission was a _joke_ , B-rank my ass…” she muttered, gathering up her net now that its occupants weren’t going to struggle anymore; tutting at a few lightly frayed cords.

She squealed at the cold hand suddenly brushing against her arm, Ino grabbed it before she could instinctively jerk away, holding her still as healing fingers sewed together a tiny cut that she hadn’t even noticed before now.

Ino didn’t look up at her, even when it was completely gone, only a light scar that would fade in a few days left. “You were supposed to be careful, idiot.”

“I _was_ careful, they didn’t even touch me, I probably just ran into a sharp branch or something-”

“That’s not the point!” Ino snapped, head finally snapping up to look her in the eye, looking furious and dangerous and _distressingly_ gorgeous. “You weren’t supposed to get too far away, the plan was stay within two-thousand feet at all times, so I’d always be able to sense your location.”

She frowned at that, did she seriously think she needed to be babied like this? “What’s the problem? It’s _me_ , I was always gonna be fine, even if these guys weren’t useless.”

Hands clamped against shoulders and she was shaken lightly as Ino spoke, “Not. The. Point!”

“I-” her words were stalled for a few seconds as she was jerked back and forth a few more times, just to get Ino’s message across, but she was eventually allowed to stand still; the hands stayed firmly in place however. “Wait… Ino, were you just _worried_ about me?”

“Of course I was worried! Why wouldn’t I be worried?!”

She probably shouldn’t be laughing, Ino certainly didn’t look like she appreciated it, but she just couldn’t help herself. “Oh, baby-”

Ino slapped a hand across her mouth. “Don’t ‘oh baby’ me when I’m trying to be mad at you!”

There was a brief struggle for control of her mouth – quickly won once she decided to just lick across her girlfriend’s palm, resulting in a frankly _hilarious_ expression that Tenten wished she had to opportunity to document – her shoulders still shaking the entire time, but she quickly managed to pull Ino into an awkward half-hug half-wrestle and snicker into her neck.

“Hey, c’mon, I’m safe, you know I can handle myself; we’ve both gone on way more dangerous missions than this.”

She could still feel a little resistance, but her girlfriend did relent enough to wrap the arm that wasn’t trapped uncomfortably between their bodies around her. “Yeah, but I’m not usually _there_ for that, it’s different when I know you should be nearby but I can’t feel you.”

Ah, shit.

Pulling back now that she knew Ino wasn’t going to try and run – or punch her – she brushed a hand carefully through slightly messed blonde locks. “Ok, sorry, I didn’t really think of that, but you don’t need to keep tabs on me all the time, I mean if you were thinking about me then you were probably a little distracted from the mission, right? What if someone had caught _you_ off-guard?”

Ino’s soft expression immediately dropped into one of irritation.

She snickered, stopping her idle stroking to instead poke at the crease between her brows. “Exactly! Look, you know how good I am and I know how good you are, let’s just both trust that we’ve always got each other’s backs, huh?”

Her finger was slapped away. “Ugh, _fine_ , but you’d better let me fuss over any injuries you get and scold you when it’s because you did something stupid!”

Tenten leaned forwards to press their grinning lips together briefly. “Deal, now how about we sort out these goons before they wake up, hmm? I’m not about to play chase with a bunch of toddlers a second time.”

\---


	3. YodoChou - Song

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (song is Shake Me (Awake) by The Dear Hunter if you're interested)

\---

YodoChou - Song

\---

“Oh, I got low for a minute…”

Consciousness came to her gently, running soft fingers up and down her back as she shifted out of sleep.

“Oh, I’ve gotta let go of tomorrow…”

Chouchou buried her face a little deeper into the pillow, curling up into the tightest ball her long limbs would allow, trying to place the song filtering in through the walls.

“Come and shake me awake…”

Ah, _that_ one, she smiled against rough cotton, wondering if Yodo had chosen to sing _that_ one on purpose or not – probably not, the songs she sang were almost always purely based on mood, though having spent the night together, she felt confident assuming that she’d had something to do with it.

“I’ve had about all I can take, so take me far away…”

Even distorted by thin walls and the low hiss of the running shower, her voice still sounded beautiful, normally her voice was so high-pitched and squeaky, but when she sang it was low and husky and she sounded utterly calm.

It was rare for her to show that side of herself, she’d much rather pretend that she was all hard edges and aggression all the time. Chouchou couldn’t adequately express how lucky she felt that she’d let her past those mile-high walls to see the softer girl who liked to sing in the shower and still had the first stuffed animal her dad had ever got her and who’d write cute, silly messages in eyeliner pen on her girlfriend’s arms as she slept.

“'Cause when we arrive, oh honey honey, wherever we're goin', we may never want to leave, so just stay a while with me …”

Chouchou snorted at the ‘u were drooling again, but dw ur still cute’ scrawled across her forearm, poking at the little heart dotted at the end.

The singing died down for a moment, replaced by the ringing silence of a constant noise ending abruptly and the shuffling of cloth and dripping water. If she really stretched her senses though, she could _just about_ hear Yodo still singing under her breath, her breath catching a little, probably as she scrubbed at her hair with a towel.

She stretched out a little, yawning wide and listening to soft, damp footsteps just outside the door, closed her eyes as it opened, listened to that lovely, beautiful, serene voice creeping closer to the bed.

“Oh, I gotta let go of tomorrow, or I never would've, never would've, never would've, never would've, never would've-”

“Missed today.”

The singing paused, just long enough for Yodo to lean down a press a soft kiss to Chouchou’s cheek and whisper, “Mornin’ beautiful,” in her ear.

“Hey girl, sleep well?”

She snorted and flopped down beside her onto the bed, still-wet hair tickling at her skin. “Mhmm, always, when you’re there,” Yodo mumbled, lazily humming under her breath, “wake up well?”

Chouchou grinned and pulled her girlfriend as close as she possibly could, damp hair, skin and towel be damned.

“Always, when it’s your voice waking me.”

\---


	4. HinaMatsu - Space au

\---

HinaMatsu - Space au

\---

Her back was aching and no amount of stretching seemed to be alleviating it. Hinata stifled a frustrated sigh as she leaned back in her chair, away from the screen and spread of recent probe data on it.

It was late in the ‘day’, but the lab was still bright – her own request, against Dr Haruno’s advisements – which left her in that bizarre state halfway between exhaustion and over-stimulation. At least it was quiet, just the constant background hum of electronics and machinery that she’d long since grown used to there to distract her. Shino had made a short comment about trying to get some rest as he left her a few hours ago, but she’d gotten so caught up in her work that she’d almost completely forgotten about it.

Or rather, she’d carefully boxed away the nagging drone of her friend’s, annoyingly sound, advice into the furthest corner of her mind as she stared at lines of data and test results for hours on end.

She let her head drop back, clamping shaky hands tightly over her eyes.

There was no rush, she had to keep reminding herself. Diligence was far more important than haste; studying a planet’s geology, weather and potential existing life was vital before any attempts at contact were made – they couldn’t risk disturbing anything – if she was the one responsible for a massive oversight due to the sloppiness brought on by fatigue, then she’d never be able to forgive herself.

But… surely if she could just force her way through a few more data points…

The screech as her chair slid back cut right through to her bones, but she powered through the shudder, turning off her computer and rushing out the door before she could change her mind.

Hair swishing and bouncing in its ponytail as she jogged, Hinata hurried through the halls, not quite able to meet the eyes of her crewmates as she passed by – they weren’t judging her for her failure, they were just saying hello, she shouldn’t be so _paranoid_ , why did they all have to stop and turn when she entered a room – as she followed her feet through to the one place she felt genuinely comfortable out here in the vast unknown.

At this time, there was only one place she’d be.

When she got there, she paused outside the door, just about managing to hear something from inside. “-just a bit soon, you know? There’s still so much we need to think about…”

Hinata groaned softly, leaning against the wall. Well, she couldn’t go in _now_ , not with someone else already there; she slowly slid down until she was huddled on the floor, arms wrapping around her legs tightly. Should she just go back to the lab? She didn’t want to wait outside like a creep, but she couldn’t bring herself to just go to her quarters and try sleeping either.

She leaned her head back until she could stare at the ceiling. She heard a tiny ‘click’ followed by the swishing of a door sliding open.

“…Uh, hello?”

Softly muttering words that would probably give her cousin a heart attack if he ever heard them coming from her mouth, Hinata jolted to her feet and gingerly poked her head around the doorframe.

“S-s-s-s…” Her mouth slammed shut, teeth gritting together harshly as she took a few seconds to breath. “I apologise, I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

Wide brown eyes blinked at her a few times, before Matsuri leapt to her feet and rushed over to greet her. “That’s ok! We were just talking; did you need something? Is the IRMS acting up again, because I think I might know what’s actually causing it now-”

“No, nothing like that,” she said, giggling just a little, “I just… wanted to see you, but you’re busy-”

Temari gave a heavy sigh as she pushed herself out of her seat. “No, it’s fine, we were just finishing up actually-”

“We were?”

Green eyes narrowed at the younger woman. “ _Yes_ , we were, I need to get going anyway, Ino was very clear that date-night would _not_ be missed out on again.” The woman smirked down at them both as she passed, before throwing them each a goodbye and striding down the hall.

Hinata wasn’t sure she liked that gleam in her eye when they made brief contact, but Matsuri was already pulling on her arm and dragging her to a seat, practically leaping into her own.

She took her time glancing around, trying to see what had changed since she was last here. It was shocking how quickly her friend’s room would be revamped, furniture shuffled around, half-complete projects suddenly appearing, progressing and then disappearing with every visit, quickly replaced with new mysterious bits of machinery and wire.

The only constants were the things she’d been given by the crew; the tiny cacti that their resident botanist Gaara had grown for her, easy for someone as easily distracted as Matsuri to take care of; the sketch Sai had claimed was inspired by her, Hinata couldn’t see it, but she was never one for abstract art anyway; a post-it note permanently stuck on her mirror reminding her to take her medication, courtesy of Dr Haruno; a plethora of posters and figurines from her favourite cartoons, the only thing she’d brought with her from Earth.

And, pride of place in the mess of sheets and pillows on her tiny bunk, was the hand-knitted mouse that Hinata had made for her birthday.

She still smiled every time she saw it there, even if one of the eyes had already fallen off and some of the stitches were beginning to fray. It was well-loved and Matsuri had told her that she always used it to calm herself down from anxiety attacks, that was more important to her than it being kept pristine and untouched.

“So, how’re things? What did you want to talk about?”

Hinata pulled her gaze away from the tiny room and instead to her friend. “I-I… don’t know, I just need to… not think about test results for a while.” She leaned over and carefully poked at the half-deconstructed… Thing lying on the desk. “What’s this you’re working on?”

Blinking a few times, Matsuri launched into a jargon-filled explanation that she couldn’t even begin to follow – something about an energy inefficient kettle? Or perhaps it was turning a kettle into a space heater for Gaara’s greenhouse? – but her voice was soft and perky and the excitement in her tone as her hands dipped and waved as she spoke always, paradoxically, calmed her down.

The world could be so harsh and frustrating and she always felt like every second not working, not being absolutely _perfect_ was inevitably going to lead to all her friends and loved ones abandoning her.

But… if this sweet, fun, _genuine_ woman could find even a kettle filled with exciting opportunities to explore – even if it meant breaking it apart, even if things went wrong and the project eventually had to be scrapped – and who could find a place for even the most useless and worn out bits of machinery…

Then maybe _she’d_ be able to find a use for her own broken, worthless pieces.

Until then, Matsuri’s bright smile would always be enough to bring a smile to her own lips and lull her into the most tranquil state of rest.

\---


	5. InoTema - Space au

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> funfact: in the very loose plans for the full fic in this setting these two are also dating chouji! but since it’s femslash feb he’s not gonna be in this really

 

\---

InoTema - Space au

\---

Temari strode through the ship’s common rooms with purpose – much like she did everything – partly because it meant random crew members were less likely to try and steal a few moments of her time… but mostly because she had _incredibly important_ places to be.

Or at least that’s what Ino probably thought.

Her girlfriend absolutely abhorred tardiness and liked to throw a fit whenever someone showed up late to a meeting with her.

She herself didn’t quite see why trawling through the huge backlog of cheesy sitcoms – ranging from some badly degraded, terribly out-of-touch fare from the fifties right up to the latest episodes just airing when they left Earth on this one-way voyage into the unknown, shows from across the globe, in almost every language, saved to an entertainment hard drive that was almost the size of the entire science division’s data storage combined – was worth such borderline-military planning, so she’d taken to arriving _precisely_ ten seconds before their dates were supposed to begin, just to see Ino’s eye twitch.

It was what she’d been planning on doing today, but then Dr Hyuuga just had to go and be all nervous and shy about her crush, forcing her to leave the poor girls alone with a not-so-subtle hint; one that she was sure wouldn’t actually lead to them suddenly realising the depth of each other’s feelings, but damnit if she’d stayed there any longer she would’ve just blurted it out herself.

And Ino had told her to under no circumstances meddle in the romantic lives of others. Except for her brothers, of course, but only because there was no force that could possibly stop her.

Much as she liked to moan and tease, Temari knew that her girlfriend knew her shit when it came to interpersonal relationships, _far_ more than she did, and she always trusted that Ino would know when it was time to step in.

She came to a sharp halt outside of Ino’s cabin, opened the door and barged in without even knocking, smirking at the blond woman gaping at her, still in the process of removing her makeup and looking like Gaara with those black smudges around her eyes. Temari flopped down on the bed beside her, jolting her girlfriend enough that she smacked herself with her face-wipe.

“Those two! I swear they each lose twenty brain cells every time they see each other.”

Didn’t mean she wasn’t going to complain about how oblivious Hinata and Matsuri were for _at least_ ten minutes of their tv night though.

\---

“So, how’ve you been feeling?”

Ino’s mumbled words jolted her out of a pleasant half-sleep, curled into her bony side, legs tangled together and slim fingers running soothingly through her tangled mass of hair.

She groaned, rolling so that she was practically lying on her girlfriend’s smaller body, nuzzling her face into her stomach. “’m fine,” she said, desperately hoping that Ino would just go back to concentrating on the ancient ‘noughties classic’ that she’d insisted upon watching – though even she had to admit the scene with the spider had made her laugh out loud, if only because it reminded her _way_ too much of Kankuro – but knowing that she wouldn’t be getting off that easy.

She’d already been let off the hook for a few days now, now was the time to push and prod and get her to just admit her problems out loud.

“So you keep saying, but I think you know no one’s buying it.” Her voice was quiet, just barely audible over the blaring speakers, turned up to cover their conversation, a small comfort that Ino did almost instinctively at this point, hands smoothing gently over her head and back. “This is the first time I’ve really seen you in almost a week, Cho thinks you’ve been ignoring him… and if your brothers fret any more I’m pretty sure the Captain’s gonna throw them out the airlock.”

Temari snorted, she couldn’t help herself, but she reluctantly pulled away from her girlfriend’s warm body, flopping onto her back to stare at the ceiling.

“No one’s mad at you-”

“I know,” she said, perhaps a little harshly. She groaned and wiped her hands roughly over her face before speaking again, “I know, you’re all just worried, I’m being too closed off about my feelings, I get it.”

Ino’s beautiful, upside-down face disrupted her view of dark sheet metal, long hair falling to tickle at her nose.

“You don’t have to open up about anything, not to me, or Chouji, or even your brothers, but pretending that we aren’t affected by your wellbeing won’t help anyone; we’re going to worry whether you choose to see it or not.”

Long moments passed and they just stared at each other, as a character on the tiny screen spoke directly to the camera. She didn’t take it in, far too lost in the blue of Ino’s eyes.

She sighed and shut her lids against that piercing gaze.

“I’m… fine. Really, I know I made the right choice – none of us are ready yet – I just…” Her hands were itching for something to do, so she blindly reached for some of the golden strands framing her face, letting the silky texture ground her a little. “I think I wanted it. Just a bit. And now I’ve…”

Ino didn’t complain, even when she tugged too hard in her anxious braiding. “I know, so did I, but it was always your decision to make; the right one, not because I think so, or Cho or anyone else, but because _you_ think so. Besides, it’s not like this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity y’know.” A single finger stroked along the curve of her cheek.

Temari slowly blinked her eyes open, weakly returning the smile offered to her, before turning her attention to the plait she’d been making, frowning at how messy it was and immediately untangling it to start again. “Next time… next time I’m keeping it.”

Thin lips curling even more, her girlfriend leaned down to kiss her, whispering a faint, “you’ll be an amazing mother, I can’t wait,” against hers.

\---


	6. YodoChou - Childhood

 

\---

YodoChou - Childhood

\---

“Sooo, what do you think?”

Yodo’s face scrunched up as she considered the sight before her, but she still had no idea what reaction was expected of her. “I dunno, ‘s pretty cool, I guess?”

Her friend shoved her shoulder hard enough to make her stumble and let out a snotty little huff, crossing her arms before saying, “What kinda reaction’s _that?_ I bring you out to see a real river and you don’t have anything to say!”

“I literally just said it’s pretty cool,” she said, frowning at the landscape once more. It _was_ pretty cool – swiftly running water clearer than she’d ever seen outside of a tap, cresting over scattered rocks and reflecting the green of the trees to each side of it, there were even some bright, glittering insects flitting about that she was actually quite interested in getting a closer look at – but it really wasn’t anything particularly special. “…The water looks nice and cold.”

Chouchou was gaping at her; she bit her lip to keep herself from laughing.

“That’s it? The water looks cold? _Seriously?_ ”

She rolled her eyes and casually ambled a little closer to the river’s edge – though really it was more of a stream than anything else. “Yup,” she said, flopping down and peeling off her sandals, “an’ there’s some cool looking animals around.”

Wriggling her toes as they were freed, she gingerly dipped one foot into the water, shivering at the immediate chill against her skin, but not enough to convince her to pull it back.

The longer she left it there, the less drastic the clash of cool liquid and stuffy air seemed, she dared to shuffle forwards until the water was lapping at her ankles. She grinned at the not-quite-pleasant, not-quite-unpleasant sensations, glancing over her shoulder to where her friend was still staring at her like she’d just claimed the sky was a beautiful shade of red today.

“Are you gonna sit with me or what?”

Finally shaking free of her stupor, the other girl huffed again and strode over, dropping next to her and kicking off her shoes, arms still crossed the entire time. “Can’t believe you’re so calm about this.”

Yodo leaned into her slightly, snickering as she kicked a tiny wave to wet Chouchou’s feet, her speech was broken up with giggles as she finally managed to say, “Did you seriously think I’d never seen water before?”

“ _No_ , I thought you’d never seen a river before-” she nudged her back and slapped her feet into the rushing waters hard enough that the splash reached both of their faces, dotting their tops with little droplets and making herself splutter for a few seconds before continuing, “-you live in a desert! How is this not the most amazing thing you’re ever seen?”

“Uhh, probably because we do actually have rivers and shit?”

Chouchou’s mouth dropped. “No way.”

She groaned and fell onto her back. “C’mon it’s not just sand everywhere, it’s not even sand _most_ places, there’s way more rocks than dunes, and there’s loads of oases about and there’s rivers an’ lakes in the south and east- wait… do you think we don’t have any plants either?”

“…Maybe.”

Her long, exaggerated sigh almost drowned out the rushing of the river. “Of course we do, we got cacti and grass and trees and flowers and everything; even in the sandy places, after a rainy season whole dunes are completely covered with flowers! Seeing something like this-” she waved a hand vaguely at the view “-is just a daytrip for us.”

It wasn’t like she was unused to feeling frustrated – honestly that was her default mood – but this was one of the rare times it was directed at someone she considered a friend.

Was this how everyone in Konoha thought of her homeland? That it was barren and empty and had nothing beautiful in it? Sure it wasn’t the most hospitable place in the world and the weather went from one extreme to another, but people had been living there for thousands of years, the idea that it was dull and ugly and that no one would ever choose to live there when there were ‘prettier’ places around was more than a little insulting.

She was about to try and explain that to the other girl, but the look on her face immediately derailed her train of thought and had her sitting bolt upright, arms flapping wildly as she tried to figure out what was wrong.

Chouchou turned away, unsubtly wiping a hand over her eyes before turning back, a smile plastered across her face. “Sorry, I was getting all overexcited about showing you something totally new, didn’t even bother to ask…”

“It’s still cool though, look!” she shouted, standing up and leaping further into the river, ignoring the freezing cold and the way her jeans were sticking uncomfortably to her skin as she splashed around.

Her friend started snickering immediately. “I can hear your teeth chattering from here.”

She stopped fighting to restrain her shuddering as she trudged out of the stream, kicking her dripping legs like a dog to dry them a little – grinning at the squeal Chouchou made as she was caught in the splash-zone – before flopping back down and leaning heavily against the other girl. “Ok fine, this is kinda sucky, but thanks for tryin’ anyways.”

“Wow, you sure know how to make someone feel better.”

Yodo pouted, tilting her head to stare up at the clouds above, when an idea came to her.

“Hey,” she said, knocking their heads together lightly, “if you _really_ wanna show me something cool, I’ve never seen snow before.”

The way Chouchou’s face went from shock, to disbelief, to hope, to determination was well worth it.

She held out a hand, little finger already extended. “This winter you’re definitely coming back so I can show you the snow.”

Yodo grinned back, eagerly entwining her friend’s pinky with her own. “You got it!”

\---


	7. SakuIno - Lazy Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not a request, buuut i’ve had the idea kicking around for a while anyways so might as well write it now! (mild suggestive content i guess?)

\---

SakuIno - Lazy Day

\---

She was still yawning, even as she carelessly rolled the omelette in her pan, before fumbling for a little more oil.

Normally she considered herself a good cook, but she was still feeling the exhaustion of two weeks with no days off from work and, honestly, she didn’t care that her roll had just split down the middle – it was only her and her girlfriend eating it anyway, so who cared if it looked like shit?

Somewhere in the back of her apartment, she heard the shuffling of fabric and thudding of drawers being opened and closed. Hopefully Ino wouldn’t be much longer then; she poured the last of her egg mix into the pan and let it cook off before rolling one last time, yawning again and almost dropping the pan as she tried to turn the gas off and tip the omelette onto a board at the same time.

It was only when long arms wrapped loosely around her neck that she realised she was no longer alone.

Ino breathed deep into her neck, giving her barely-there kisses as she said, “Smells good, what’re we eating?”

“Tamagoyaki and daikon, oh and there’s juice, or tea, if you want go get it…”

The arms reluctantly slipped away, bare feet making soft, sticky noises against the floor as she wandered off. “ _Fine_ , slave-driver.”

She smiled to herself, slicing the omelette up thickly and chucking it haphazardly onto the large serving plate with the rest of their breakfast, before taking it to the dining table and settling herself in her seat, not bothering to wait for her girlfriend to join her as she nabbed the best pieces for herself.

“You having tea or juice?” Ino called out from the counter.

“’ea, ‘anks,” she mumbled through stuffed cheeks, swallowing thickly just as Ino gently dropped a cup in front of her. Sakura had just lifted her head to thank her, but her words were immediately cut off by the sudden lump in her throat as she almost choked on her mouthful. Ino was quick to slap her forcefully on the back until she managed to clear it, but by that time she was practically in tears and already laughing her ass off.

Once convinced that she wasn’t about to drop dead, Ino just rolled her eyes and sat heavily in her own seat, reaching over to grab herself something to eat. “Do I even wanna know?”

Fighting to catch her breath and having to take a long, slow sip of her tea to calm down a little, she finally wiped a finger under her eyes and smirked at her girlfriend, snickering as she said, “What the hell are you wearing? You do remember that we’re just having a lazy day today, right?”

Chopsticks still in her mouth and cheeks puffy with the bite she’d just taken, Ino glanced down at herself, frowned and then looked back up, washing her tamagoyaki down with a sip of juice. “Yeah, what’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“Nothing’s wrong with it,” she said – certainly not, in fact a very persuasive argument could be made that it was so very right, shades of pastel purple and baby blue that she rarely wore, yet beautifully complimented her light hair and dark skin, and perfectly cut to emphasize her curves, no there was absolutely nothing she didn’t like about it, but… “Ino, we were just supposed to be lounging around in tatty old t-shirts and underwear, y’know, comfortable stuff.”

Sakura had to admit, the lady had the Condescending Single Eyebrow Raise down to a fine art. “Yes, which is exactly what I’m wearing.”

“ _No_ , you’re wearing a tiny, lacy bra with suspenders and stockings.”

Ino stared down at her outfit – her revealing, strappy, needlessly complicated ‘outfit’ – for a solid minute before finally turning back to her. “And?”

Her head hit the table hard enough to make every bit of crockery on it clatter. She half-groaned, half-spoke into the wood, “How can you wear that on a lazy day.”

“This _is_ my lazy underwear. It doesn’t even _match_.”

She tilted her head up with bleary eyes. “No woman, anywhere, ever, has thought that an underwired bra or suspenders have any place in comfortable, slouching around the house underwear.”

“Well clearly they’re missing a trick,” Ino declared, daintily nibbling on another slice of omelette, shifting in a way that made… places _move_ , which was most definitely intentional, judging by that tiny, self-satisfied little smirk she gave at Sakura’s unsubtle staring, “because I feel _very_ comfortable knowing that I look fucking incredible right now.”

Shit, was she blushing? Better start stuffing her face again to try and hide it.

“That’s not the point, how am I supposed to sit here like this-” she gestured vaguely to her most ancient sports bra – the one with all the holes – and her loose pj pants – that _didn’t_ have any holes, but were still so threadbare they were practically transparent “-while you’re all dolled up?”

The long sip of tea distracted her from Ino’s long, hard, examination of her outfit, but not enough that she wasn’t squirming uncomfortably in her chair after just ten seconds.

Her girlfriend’s lips twisted in a most interesting way as she leaned back a little and tapped a long, elegant finger against them. “It’s fine, I have flawless taste and you dress like shit, so we balance each other out.”

“Hey!”

“Oh, _relax_ forehead,” she said, slipping out of her seat to flop down in Sakura’s lap and hooking a finger under one of her straps, “when what’s under them is so great who cares what your clothes look like.”

She was not going to blush, she was not going to blush, she was _not_ going-

“…Fine, keep your stupid, fancy underwear, but don’t come to me for resuscitation when your rib cage collapses, I’ll be too busy being _comfy_.”

\---


	8. InoTemaTen - Domestic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another non-request, since they’re dried up a lil now, but this was fun to write

\---

InoTemaTen - Domestic

\---

“You should go look.”

Ino scoffed, pulling her legs even tighter against herself. “Hell no! Why don’t _you_ go?” she asked, levelling her girlfriend a challenging glare over her knees.

“Because I haven’t got a death wish and I looked last time.” Her breathing had calmed since her last excursion, but Tenten’s eyes kept skittering towards the door and she was fidgeting more out of nerves than her usual unsuppressible energy; she maybe felt a little guilty about trying to shove the task onto her again, but then she thought about having to go do it herself, and the sharp knife of dread stabbing harshly all down her spine chased all other emotions away.

She absolutely was _not_ going to look.

Letting the shudder pass through her body without resistance, Ino pouted and pulled herself into an even tighter ball. “Fine, guess neither of us will go, we can just wait here.”

Tenten’s long, unbound curls bounced as she gave a sharp nod. “Agreed.”

They both settled into the comfortable silence – comfortable, except for the darting eyes and constant twitching and looming shadow of death hanging over the pair. It would've been nice if they'd found a better hiding place at least, the bathroom was tiny and sorely lacking in comfortable seating, Tenten was sitting cross-legged on the toilet, so she'd had to throw a stack of towels onto the cold, hard linoleum floor and lean back against the bath.

They couldn't even use the opportunity to have some steamy shower sex, since they were both too busy cowering in fear – also because she'd used all the hot water this morning, but that was a minor point.

“So, uhh, do we have a plan here?”

Wearily blinking up at her, Ino said, “This room is our home now, we'll sleep in the bathtub and subsist on all those fruit-scented soaps Lee keeps buying us. We can even hold our wedding ceremony here, wear our most luxurious towels, the guests can climb in through the window.”

Tenten snickered, uncrossing one leg to poke at her knees. “That's a _tad_ overdramatic.”

“Are you going to go out and save us?”

“...Ok, fair.”

She groaned and leaned her head back until it thudded against the bath with a dull clunk, letting her eyes slip closed, though that didn’t stop her from imagining horrors in every corner – actually, it kinda of made it worse.

They should’ve been in bed an hour ago, both dressed in their pyjamas, makeup removed and hair down, cleaned up and ready to just snuggle and dream after a long week of work. But now it looked like they’d just be spending the night in here, too exhausted to find a way out, but too anxious to actually get some sleep. If only she had her phone on her, she might’ve been able to call Sakura, or Chou-

The screech she let loose when she felt a faint tickling against her bare arm was probably loud enough to wake the entire apartment building.

Eyes snapping open, she’d already started wildly slapping at the disturbance, before she realised it was a lot bigger and more solid than she’d been expecting. Tenten herself was halfway between screaming and laughing as she tried to pull her foot out of her flailing hands, just managing to cough out a breathless, “Sorry, sorry,” by the time Ino had calmed down a little.

Whether her face was turning red from embarrassment or anger was anyone’s guess.

Tenten squealed as the grip on her foot tightened and blue eyes narrowed dangerously. “I swear, I didn’t mean to scare you! I just wanted to see if you were asleep.”

She could feel her cheeks puffing out, but didn’t care how ridiculous she might look right now, jabbing a finger into the sensitive sole of her girlfriend’s foot, taking just a little joy in how she immediately started squirming and giggling. “Why didn’t you just _ask_?!”

“I’m sorry! Please forgive me, I don’t have anywhere to escape your wrath!”

“Never!” Ino shrieked, already getting a better grip to tickle at Tenten’s vulnerable skin, wild grin stretching across her lips.

Her girlfriend’s entire body was jerking and shaking, legs kicking out blindly and chest heaving with uncontrollable laughter. Tears just starting to build in her eyes, Tenten chocked out a horribly broken, “S-ssorrEEE!”

Ino hummed, tickling fingers not stilling for a moment as she considered her response. “Have you learned your lesson?”

“YES!”

She kept going for a few more seconds, jerking her head out of the way of a wild kick, before finally relenting and releasing the foot, which was snapped back so fast she was surprised there was no cracking of bone to be heard. Finally bringing her breathing back under control, Tenten hugged her knees to her chest, foot rubbing harshly against the other. “Jerk,” she mumbled, pouting like a toddler.

Ino flicked her head, though the bobbed hair that tickled against her face, making her jolt and instinctively slap a hand to the spot somewhat ruined the effect. She still managed to pull herself together enough to turn the move into a haughty hair flick and say, “You started it-”

The sound of both women screaming as the bathroom door slammed open almost drowned out the sound of wood hitting the tiled wall.

“You guys have got to – stop screaming – have _got_ to stop doing this shit this late at night.”

Tenten was the first to recover, practically leaping at the statuesque woman in the doorway. “Temari! Our saviour! You’ve gotta help us, there’s a spider in the kitchen, we came here to escape from it but now we’re trapped!”

Their neighbour raised an eyebrow, slowly pulling her hand from behind her back, Ino didn’t need to look at the upside-down glass to know what was inside it, not with the way her girlfriend was suddenly clambering on top of the toilet’s cistern, one hand flapping vaguely in her direction. When Ino scrambled to her feet to take it, Tenten just hauled her up and practically melded their bodies together.

“Nnnghhnh NO! Get it out, get it out!”

Groaning long and loud, Temari took a few steps further into the bathroom, sliding open the frosted-glass window one-handed and lifting the glass from her palm – pointedly ignoring the twin shrieks in her ear – shaking her hand until happy that the spider had dropped outside, before turning back to them with an impressively unimpressed look on her face. “You two are absolutely pathetic, you know that?”

Ino peaked out from behind her girlfriend’s shoulder, staring hard at the window as it was gently shut. “You’re _sure_ it’s gone?”

“Very.” Pulling her dressing gown a little tighter, their neighbour strode back over to the door, pausing with one hand on the frame to glance back at them. “One of you really needs to learn how to deal with spiders, you can’t have a couple where you’re _both_ going to cower in the bathroom until someone comes to save you.”

“What a great idea! So, when are you gonna move in?” Tenten said, somehow managing to go from trembling like a leaf on top of a toilet, to leaning against the wall next to the tall blonde, waggling her eyebrows in under three seconds.

Ino couldn’t help snorting; her girlfriend was just _such_ an incorrigible flirt.

Not that she was opposed to the idea. Not at all.

“Well~?” Even _Ino_ felt herself squirming a little at that tone of voice, the one that had got her into Tenten’s bed in the first place – and most certainly many others.

Temari blinked, rubbing a hand over heavily-bagged eyes. “You’re an absolute nightmare.”

Making a noise more fit for a puppy than a human being, Tenten trailed after the woman as she made her way to the front door, Ino hurried after them, ready to reign her girlfriend in if she decided to be a whiny brat about this, but, before she could throw a tantrum or start clinging to her legs, the older woman stopped, shivering just a little in the cold night air, and gave the pair one of her trademark devastating smirks.

“Try asking again in the morning. With some breakfast to make up for waking me up, again.”

She gave them a tired wave, before disappearing into her own apartment next-door. Ino was quick to shut the door and muffle Tenten’s excited squeaking with a kiss; she wasn’t sure that either of them were going to be getting much sleep anymore.

\---


	9. YodoChou - Concert

 

\---

YodoChou - Concert

\---

Chouchou frowned as she studied her reflection, twisting and spinning and still not finding what she was looking for.

It might’ve helped if she’d actually known _what_ that was exactly, but, unfortunately, she’d been relying on instinct to guide her. Instincts she apparently didn’t possess.

Groaning, she stopped trying to twist her neck a full one-hundred and eighty degrees to see her back, instead flopping down on her bed face-first. She had to move just a few seconds later, sitting upright so that the multitude of metal spikes decorating her leather jacket would stop digging into her skin.

Needless to say, her ‘punk’ experiment was a resounding failure.

She couldn’t see how _anyone_ could find this comfortable… well, anyone except Yodo, who had presumably emerged from the womb with steel-toe boots already clad, kicking in the teeth of the poor bastard delivering her.

Chouchou stared at the reflection before her, of a woeful girl dressed in ill-fitting leather, denim that was more hole than fabric and tacky fishnet sleeves and tights, draped in enough metal chains and spikes that she could probably make herself a serviceable suit of armor, who couldn’t look more out-of-place and uncomfortable if she tried. There was entirely too much black in this outfit, had punks never heard of _accent colours_? And how the _fuck_ was it that all the things that made her heart pound and cheeks burn when her crush wore them, just made her look like an angsty teenager trying _way_ too hard to piss of her parents.

This was the last time she went to Inojin for advice.

She would’ve spent even longer wallowing in misery, had her phone not chosen that moment to go off. Not bothering to tear her gaze away from her miserable reflection, she blindly swatted the bed behind her until her hand closed around hard plastic and brought the mobile to her face, frowning at the way the movement the half-dozen chains hanging from her sleeves jangle and clink.

“Yeah?”

“Hey girl-” Yodo’s scratchy voice immediately brought a smile to her face “-you sound fuckin’ dismal, not to worry though, I’m here now to wash all your worries away! So hurry up and lemme in.”

Immediately jumping to her feet, she was almost out the door before the rattling of metal stopped her in her tracks. Chouchou glanced back at her mirror, grimacing at the state she was in. “Actually… now’s not a great time, maybe come back in like, fifteen minutes?”

“Whaaaat, no way! C’mon it’s _freezing_ out here and it’d take me more than that just to walk home.”

She toyed with the hem of her frayed t-shirt, wondering if facing her best friend’s wrath would be better or worse than her hysterical laughter. “Then get me some sweets from the shop?”

“Hell no!”

“I’ll pay you back,” she rushed to say, already fighting to shrug off the jacket, but only succeeding in getting her arm caught in one of the many unnecessary straps hanging from it, “just gimme ten minutes to change…” The faint rip as she struggled against fabric almost made her want to scream.

And the slam of a heavy door made her want to cry.

“Too late-” Yodo’s voice now came from inside the house, slightly muffled by walls and doors, with an unsettling echo from the phone “-already picked the lock, thought I told ya to get a deadbolt?” The footsteps creeping ever closer had Chouchou panicking as she tried to both shed the _goddamned_ jacket and lean against the door at the same time. “Hey, you listenin’ to me? You better say if you’re naked right no-” the door swung open, but came to a jarring halt as it collided with her back “-the fuck? _Really_?”

Chouchou shoved it back, though the resistance from the other side was extreme. “I told you not to come in!”

“An’ I ignored you.” Another shove, she had to drop her phone to fight it. “What’s wrong with you today?” She grunted as Yodo made a full-body slam against the door. “I’ve got two brothers, you ain’t winnin’ this battle.”

“Don’t care, just go sit in the kitchen while I get dressed!”

There was a long pause, though the pressure against her didn’t let up for a second, before she heard a sigh and the crackling of plastic. She was just about to try for another push when a skinny hand slipped through the crack between the door and its frame, handles of a plastic bag coming with it, though the main bulk of it remained trapped behind the door. “I already bought sweets on my way here…”

She stared hard at the bag, mind rushing with all possible outcomes. “What kind?” Chouchou muttered, mentally cursing her unquenchable appetite.

“Gummies and chocolate raisins for you, sugar almonds and sour candy for me.”

Her head made a heavy clunk as she slammed it back against the wood. “Ok, _fine_ , but you’re not allowed to laugh, got it?”

“Yup, now lemme in!” Yodo shouted, already pushing against the door again.

Shaking her head, Chouchou carefully stepped back, catching it before it could slam into her dresser. Her crush stumbled slightly, but was quick to regain her footing and give her an intense up-and-down. She tried not to fidget under those hard, green eyes, instead focusing on Yodo’s expression, trying to gauge her reactions before the inevitable laughter.

The expected widening of eyes, her mouth dropping into a tiny ‘o’ for a few seconds, before her lips pulled back as she tried – and failed – to conceal a smirk, a tiny shaking of shoulders and faint snort.

She sighed, rolling her eyes as she snatched the bag from Yodo’s slack grip, collapsing back onto her bed, before remembering why that was a terrible idea and dragging herself back up. “I _told_ you not to laugh.”

“I ain’t laughing!” she said, utterly failing to sound like she wasn’t laughing.

“You’re a terrible liar,” Chouchou mumbled, digging for her sweets in crinkling plastic, “just thought I’d try and get into the spirit of things for the concert, but clearly punk is _not_ my style.” She didn’t bother to mention that she’d also hoped that maybe appealing to her secret crush’s taste in fashion might get her to see her in a new, more alluring, light.

Yodo finally released the laugh that she’d been holding back, but surprisingly it was more of a chuckle than the howling cackle she’d been expecting. The blonde jumped next to her, playfully shoving their shoulders together. “C’mon, it ain’t that bad, you’ve kinda got the right ide-”

Her words cut off suddenly, leaning back to study her a little closer; Chouchou chewed on a gummy snake and raised a brow.

“Actually,” Yodo said, leaping up and marching over to her friend’s wardrobe, “Let’s see, no, no…”

Watching the short woman as she rifled though her things, not even bothering to complain when she started throwing tops to the floor as she searched – her dad had been trying to train her out of her messiness for over a decade with little success, Chouchou wasn’t even going to bother – just casually working through her treats, wondering why the fuck she found that scrawny ass so attractive.

Finally, she seemed to have found what she was after, throwing a t-shirt and skirt over her head. “’ere, change into this, keep the tights and boots though.”

Rolling her eyes, she escaped from the fabric and started shuffling out of the distressed skinny jeans she had on. She didn’t worry about being watched, as her friend had already flopped down on the mattress and was entertaining herself with her sugared almonds, besides, she wouldn’t really mind if she _did_ want to look…

The next twenty minutes was a flurry of changing tops until Yodo was satisfied, then she was ordered to sit still as she worked on her makeup and hair, singing along to her favourite rock playlist the whole time.

When she was finally allowed to look at herself again, she’d been completely transformed.

She stared for a long moment, then walked right up to the mirror as though that would somehow make her reflection change to what she _actually_ looked like, because there was no way she could ever look so… badass.

“Oh.” She stepped back again, just to properly admire the way that her skirt – the long velvet one she’d never found an excuse to actually wear before – hugged her hips, the high slit revealing a long, toned, fishnet-clad leg, how her bright, jewel green crop top showed off a generous amount of skin, and added a splash of colour under the jacket she’d so hated just half an hour ago – though the fact that her friend had somehow managed to remove half the needless metal from it probably had something to do with that. “I… look fucking _hardcore_ , damn girl, under all the studs and eyeliner you’re actually a total fashionista, aren’t cha?”

There was no reply.

Glancing over her shoulder, she was about to say something, but the way her crush was staring at her, jaw hanging open, eyes unfocused and cheeks _definitely_ darker than usual stopped her dead.

Yodo, upon realising that she was being spoken too, finally managed to unfreeze. “Uhh… oh! Shit! We’re gonna miss the show if we don’t get goin’! C’mon lazy-butt, race ya!” She fled the room like she would flee from the scene of her pranks, rather pointedly not looking back at her.

She couldn’t have stopped the wide grin stretching across plum-painted lips if she’d tried. Maybe Inojin knew what he was talking about after all…

\---


	10. HinaTema - Artist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> femslash feb requests are over for now, thanks to everyone who sent one in, i had an absolute blast and already can’t wait for next year!

\---

HinaTema - Artist

\---

“You alright there?” It always amazed her that the voice that was usually so rough and teasing was capable of such gentleness, no matter how many times she heard it.

Hinata took a deep breath and shook her head, though her eyes remained firmly shut. “Mhmm.”

There was a pause, filled only with the quiet melody of the zen, instrumental music playing over the speakers and distant chatter, before that soft, caring voice spoke up again, “If you want me to stop, just say so, I honestly won’t mind.”

“Nn-” the breath she’d been holding caught in her rush to get it out “-no, I _really_ want this, I’m just nervous.”

“Hey it’s fine, everyone gets like that, I just want you to know that you’re in control here.” A barely-there brush against her temple made her flinch in its unexpectedness, but it was enough to make her finally open her eyes. Temari smiled down at her, that beautiful, tender smile that brought creases to the corners of her eyes and revealed the dimples in her cheeks.

She sat dumbstruck for a few seconds, before leaning into the hand still hovering at her cheeks and forcing a tense smile onto her own face. “I know,” she said, resting the urge to kiss the woman’s palm as she settled back on the table. “I’ll be fine.”

“I know you will.” Temari chuckled softly, hand slipping away reluctantly when she went back to her position at Hinata’s hip.

Despite her words, she was still feeling incredibly anxious and fidgety, and now that her eyes had been opened she was suddenly unable to close them again, instead focusing on her girlfriend’s calm, professional movements, giggling slightly at every press of cold gloves against her skin. The second that the dreadful chainsaw-buzzing started, however, her lids slammed shut. She tried to hold her breath, count to ten, brace herself against the table, _anything_ to calm her down a little.

The painful noise abruptly cut off. “Do you need a minute?”

Her short bob flicked against her face as she shook her head rapidly.

“It would be better if you look, so you know what’s coming.” Temari didn’t order, not like she did with most people, but Hinata had to remind herself that she knew best in this situation, even if the thought of watching was terrifying.

Slowly cracking one eye open, just enough to see the other woman’s smile as she gently smoothed a little more petroleum over her hip and carefully picked up the gun.

She tensed, even before it was switched on.

“Try and relax,” Temari said, leaning over once more to press a quick kiss to the tip of her nose, “I promise it sounds more violent than it really is.” She sat back in her seat, picking up her tool with one hand and lightly pinching her thigh. “Besides, you’re nice and plump, so there’s no need to worry about hitting bone!”

Slapping her hands against her face, she couldn’t help but laugh, even as the screaming of a hundred angry wasps started up again.

“Ok, I’m gonna start with a small line, just take deep, slow breaths.”

Temari waited until she’d calmed herself, before slowly bringing the tattoo gun close to her skin, dark eyes focused intently on the stencil as she closed the gap.

She felt something like an electric shock jolt through her, a tiny flinch as the needle hit, but any pain was numbed by shock. Hinata bit her lip, concentrating on her breathing, long inhale, hold for a second, controlled release.

Wiping a tissue against her hip, Temari grinned up at her. “Not so bad, huh?”

It was somewhat surreal to look down and see a smear of black against her skin, but good. “It… stings.”

Her girlfriend winced in sympathy, even though she had enough ink that she could probably be tattooed in her sleep and not even wake up. “Can’t get around that I’m afraid, I won’t say it’ll get better, but you do get a bit used to it. So, ready to continue?”

She nodded, a little eagerly this time, now that the terror of the unknown had passed. Temari nodded too, then hunched over to draw.

It hurt, it really did, but not like she’d been expecting, and not any more than her daily Baguazhang training. Still though, she wasn’t sure how long she’d be able to bear it; keeping her breathing slow and steady, she instead let her mind focus on other senses, the tranquil song playing, a cough from the next room, the sharp, antiseptic tang to the air, the silky caress of a gloved hand against her thigh, the crease between Temari’s brows as she moved her tool with painstaking precision, the single curl that had fallen free of its ponytail, the visible whispering of her lips – even if the sound never reached her ears.

Never before had she been so close to her girlfriend as she worked, it was entrancing to see how fully she devoted herself to her art, completely unaware of anything outside of skin and ink. It reminded her how important this was to her, she’d always been attracted to passion and Temari had it in spades.

Her cousin had been wary about her sudden desire to get couples tattoos with her girlfriend; they’d been together for a few years now and planned to be together for many more, but he’d still felt the need to pester her about the potential failure of love and the pain that would come with a permanent reminder etched into her body. She knew he was just trying to look out for her, but his lack of faith in her own decisions was frustrating.

No matter what might happen in the future, she _truly_ wanted a piece of that passion decorating her skin.

Several hours, a short lunch break and many soothing kisses later, she was finally allowed to stand up and take in the finished piece. Her leg felt more than a little achy, but when she saw the tattoo it hardly seemed to matter anymore.

It started a little below her hip-bone, flowing down to her upper thigh, a beautiful, intricate fan, based on Temari’s favourite, the one with geometric designs and three purple circles – though the centre one had been changed to a white yang symbol – faint gusts of wind entwining it and, vines twisting together at the base of the fan, two delicate, white cereus flowers, which only bloomed in moonlight and always reminded her of her _own_ queen of the night.

Temari shuffled next to her, admiring her own work in the mirror. “So, whaddya think?”

She gingerly touched just outside of the reddened skin, wishing she could just press her fingers into it and fully explore every detail, but she settled for skirting the area with one finger, giggling slightly as she said, “It’s… beautiful, you did an amazing job.”

“Of course I did, I’m incredible,” her girlfriend scoffed, nudging her shoulder lightly before casually dragging the hem of her shorts up enough to reveal her own tattoo – a few weeks old at this point, but not quite fully-healed, it was still just _slightly_ red around the edges – a pair of bold orange and yellow marigolds, surrounded by fire, which curved around a dark yin symbol. The taller woman grinned, pressing their hips together as much as possible without touching her still raw skin. “Look~ we match!”

Hiding a snicker behind a hand, Hinata leaned up to brush her lips to Temari’s jaw, whispering a tiny, “Thank you,” into her skin.

She wondered what she might like to have done next.

\---

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